Integrated Health Professional Model

The Integrated Health Professional (IHP) diagram is used as a template on how to emphasise and incorporate the importance of professionalism in the health care environment. It is also used as a tool to improve the ways in which you practice as well as your relationships and attitude towards patients. The IHP ultimately improves how health care providers assist patients but also how they reflect on themselves to obtain the best possible outcomes. In this essay, I will be describing the IHP model and link it to a personal experience, voicing my own thoughts and feelings in the situation, how it has affected me and how I would do things as an upcoming health professional.

The IHP diagram frames the different areas of professionalism and how it

J., Duncan, M., 2007:2.) The diagram focuses on and is broken down into three different dimensions. These dimensions are the knowledge, empathy and reflective dimensions. The dimensions can be simply defined as the following: the knowledge dimension refers to knowledge and skills possessed and used by professionals in health care environments to help their patients. Olckers (2007:2) relates the knowing dimension to learning throughout your life as a health professional as well as applying this knowledge in an appropriate manner. It’s more than just knowing facts, but rather drawing on past experiences to bring about a more effective way of helping patients. The empathic dimension refers to and emphasises developing a relationship between yourself and the patients by creating a bond through understanding and sensitivity. This dimension mainly focuses on empathy, the ability to care and understand the feelings of others but in so doing, to help them. Linked with this is the idea of “listening deeply” introduced by Gibson, (2002). It is pertinent that, as health care professionals, we listen intently and try to build an understanding of what the patient is experiencing. Gibson (2002) emphasises the importance of allowing

The experience came during my sessions with my physiotherapist, which is currently what I am studying to become. During high school, I spent a lot of time playing hockey and as it tends to happen over time and playing through strains and pains, I developed a groin injury, which made walking painful. I would rest a week to recover but as soon as I started to run it came back worse than before. It was then that I decided I needed to get this injury examined. After a few weeks of not training, I managed to book an appointment. I arrived at the physiotherapy practice after a long day of school. I was hot, bothered and tired and it showed in my body language. I did not feel like doing anything more. Despite being so miserable, I was greeted by the warm smile and cheerful aura of the physiotherapist. She introduced herself, asked me how I was doing and how I was feeling. It gave me the sense that she cared and wanted to know and this made me feel a lot more comfortable. I found myself a little more relaxed. While I was describing what had happened and how the pain had become increasingly worse, she was listening and building an understanding in her head and she would only stop me to get clarity on finer details. This gave me the impression that she was knowledgeable and made me feel as if I was in safe hands. Hence developed a trust in this health professional. Before